Adrian for Laurel

»Laurel Board of Trade Small Business Roundtable«

Thank you to the Laurel Board of Trade (LBOT) for sponsoring, and thank you to the City Department Heads for making themselves available, as small business owners and non-profits from around Laurel gathered at Council Chambers to learn the resources available to them from the City and to share ideas and connections on enabling small businesses to flourish in our town. Many great and candid conversations were had both in general session and afterwards, and I was encouraged by the commitment and drive of our small businesses to impact the Laurel community for the better. (Side note: My heart was very much warmed by one attendee’s comment that we’re ‘courting her to Laurel’ with the support and encouragement provided here.) 🙂 And I know there’s even more good to flow from this meeting.

»Black History Month Celebration«

What a powerful and heart-filled program put together by Council President Kyla Clark bringing together so many members from across our community to remember the past and celebrate the future during Black History Month. The spoken-word poem recited by KayKiara, the keynote by Joanne Awuor Oport of Africans for Mental Health, the singing by Laurel High School choir, historical notes from our Mayor, the featured non-profits, the small business vendors, and more were so uplifting. And not to mention the Electric Slide dance and music at the end. It’ll be hard to top this one next year and thank you to all who were involved in making it a great success! (P.S. You have to checkout the video of the event online produced by the LaurelTV crew.)

»Laurel Town Hall Listening Session«

The Mayor held his second annual Town Hall Listening session on Feb 7 to both have Departments share about key accomplishments from this past year and to take notes of residents' ideas and concerns for helping make Laurel even better. It was a pleasure getting to meet those who were present in person, both to hear the ideas they shared from the podium, and also converse with them before and after the session on topics on their mind and ideas/ questions they have. Definitely want to encourage residents to reach out any time, either via email or I always enjoying meeting folks in person (e.g., at in-person Council Meetings the end of each month). As I shared during the Town Hall, you really are the beating heart of the City and you are the builders of community we are all trying to serve, so never hesitate to connect and let the City know how it can help.